Jason Momoa Was Unaware of Aquaman Audition

Jason Momoa never knew he was auditioning for Aquaman; he thought he would be playing one of Batman’s villains instead. The actor briefly cameoed as Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, in Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice last year and he will be reprising his role in the filmmaker’s Justice League next month, which will unite Aquaman with the rest of the world’s finest heroes – Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) – for the first time on the big screen.

From the time Batman V Superman was announced to the time Warner Bros. confirmed plans to develop their own DC cinematic universe (unofficially known as the DCEU), every outlet had their own rumor about who was playing whom. Momoa’s name was one of the first attached to Snyder’s Man of Steel follow-up, and it was originally thought that he would be playing either Martian Manhunter or the villain Doomsday. Neither rumor was true, for Momoa eventually signed on for the part of Aquaman, but he didn’t know that’s who he was originally auditioning to play.

Related: Aquaman Movie Wraps Production

The Justice League global press tour has officially begun and Momoa has been busy answering questions about his role as Aquaman in the upcoming superhero team-up movie. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Momoa revealed that he initially read for the part of Batman – after Affleck had already been cast – so he thought he was going to play one of Batman’s villains, not Aquaman.

“When Zack [Snyder] first approached me, it was a bit of a mystery because when I went in for the audition, he wanted me to read for Batman – and Ben [Affleck] had already been cast in the role by that point. So, I knew something fishy was going on and just read the lines with a lot of attitude, like I didn’t care what was on the page [laughs]! And then Zack said to me, ‘Do you know who I want you to play?’ I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll be a villain or some bad dude who comes in and fights Batman – sounds like fun.’ He said, ‘I want you to play Aquaman.’”

Aquaman’s inclusion in Batman V Superman and the rest of the shared universe was the subject of much speculation during the film’s production. Snyder had once phoned-in a local radio station to discuss the potential of having a “badass” Aquaman, but he would neither confirm nor deny the character’s involvement in his movie at the time. And now, the aquatic superhero’s grand introduction in Justice League is right around the corner.

Following Justice League, Momoa will next be seen playing the would-be king in James Wan’s Aquaman movie, scheduled to release in December 2018. And with Justice League 2 already in the works, it should be expected that he will return for that film as well. Although he has the chance to define the character for a modern audience, it would’ve been interesting to see him take on one of Batman’s villains.